Garage doors for buildings, are generally mounted to a garage door rack assembly. The garage door rack assembly is usually formed of opposite rails positioned proximate to each side of a garage door. Each garage door rail includes an interior channel designed for receiving engagement of a roller which is rotatably mounted on a shaft. The shaft is usually engaged to a bracket, which in turn, is affixed to the interior of adjacent garage door panels. Generally, the rails of the garage door rack assembly extend vertically upward from a garage floor a sufficient distance to permit entry of a vehicle into a garage. The rails then generally curve and extend horizontally with respect to a garage floor to hold the garage door panels in an open position. The horizontal position of the rails is preferably of sufficient height to not contact the roof of a vehicle positioned within a garage.
The cable, rails, interior channels, and rollers for the garage door rack assembly are generally formed of metal having sharp edges. A child's or adult's appendages may easily be cut, severed, and/or crushed by inadvertent contact with the garage door rack assembly, particularly during the elevation and/or lowering of a garage door, during use of an automatic garage door opener.
As known, individuals returning home or to a structure are generally prevented from observing the presence and location of individuals within a garage when the garage door is in a closed position. An individual in this situation, activating an automatic garage door opener, will have no knowledge that an individual within a garage may be in close proximity to a garage door rack assembly and thereby be exposed to risk of injury during the opening of a garage door.
In other situations, an individual returning home or to a structure, may activate an automatic garage door opener at a distance from the structure where observation of the interior of a garage is not permitted. In this situation, a vehicle operator will have no knowledge that an individual is within a garage having an open garage door. A person in close proximity to a garage door rack assembly, which has not obstructed an optic safety device, may therefore be exposed to risk of injury during the closing of a garage door.
No device is known which functions as a garage door rack assembly shield to minimize risk of injury to children and/or adults during the activation of an automatic garage door opener for a garage.
The garage door rack assemblies as known frequently utilize a cable as engaged to a load bearing spring or drum to assist in the elevation of a garage door. The cable is usually positioned vertically proximate to each rail of the garage door rack assembly. Frequently, the rails of the garage door rack assembly are positioned a sufficient distance outwardly from a garage door frame to expose the cable. No garage mechanism safety shield is known which prevents an individual from placing an arm and/or appendages in proximity to the cable to minimize risk of injury.
In general, the majority of automatic garage door systems include an optic safety device proximate to the floor of a garage. The optic safety device functions to terminate the closing of a garage door in the event that the optic beam of the safety device is broken.
In a situation where the optic safety device is obstructed while the garage door is in a lowered or in a closed position, and the electronic garage door opener is activated, the garage door will continue to open even though the optical path of the safety device remains obstructed. An individual in the proximity of the rails of the garage door rack assembly in this situation is therefore at a substantial risk of injury during the opening of a garage door. An individual opening the garage door will therefore not normally be able to halt a garage door elevation to avoid or minimize injury.
A number of individuals having automatic garage door openers with optic safety features are also unaware that the pressure sensitivity of the automatic garage door opener is sufficiently high, so that a garage door will continue to open or close during the presence of an obstruction, in at least one of the open interior channels. In this situation the obstruction is frequently an appendage of a hand. Also, a number of individuals are unaware that in the event that sufficient pressure is exposed to an activated garage door opener, then the direction of movement of the garage door does not reverse relative to the obstruction, but stops the movement of the garage door at the location of the obstruction. In fact, the pressure caused by an obstruction on an electric garage door opener system, may be sufficiently high for the top sections of the garage door to buckle and/or bend prior to the termination of the advancement or retraction of the garage door. In addition, the presence of an obstruction may be sufficient to jam a roller within an interior channel of a rail such that the release cord is rendered inoperable. An individual would then be required to activate the electronic garage door a second time to open, or initiate a reversal or the direction of movement of the garage door, to free the obstruction and/or individual. An individual could therefore be pinned into place and severely injured by a garage door opener having an unprotected garage door rack assembly.
Frequently, the garage door as engaged to an electronic garage door opener is the largest and most dangerous moving machinery at a home. As known, generally no protective device exists to minimize risk of injury to individuals during use of the garage door rack assembly.
A need therefore exists for a garage door safety shield to protect individuals from the rails, cable, internal channel, track, and/or rollers of a garage door rack assembly.